Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-09-01
THE DEcENERATED DERusH.


DeScrtptlOn=RerSonat Appearance
As everywhere in Moslem countries. in
Persia the dervish has degenerated. For
merly assimilating the noblest thought,
the highest religious and political aspira-
tions of which, Islam is capable, the rank
and file of the various religious orders
comprised under the name of dervish is
today composed of tramps and vagabonds
of the lowest description. Many of them
hail from northern India, and their type
OF features differs quite radically from
that of the average Persian. There are
Arabs among them as well, negroes from
Africa, Koor,is, Turcomans and Afghans.
All Of them, however, of high and low de-
gree, are "benghis,' /. e., ,mokers of
''benghn or hasheesh.
AS to their appearance, one can indeed
speak of it rs picturesque raggedness,
and, as n rule, they wear their rags
with elegance. The outfit of one of these
gentry is not very extensive. A more or
less soiled and torn cottage garment, a
tiger or bear skin slung over the shoulder
(bedstead and mattress both, long stick
of generous dimensions, whose carved
handle frequently forms the Arabic char
acter for ''ya ali, = the horn of an argali,
or mountain sheep Ito give notice of his
approach to the benevolenD; a hasheesh
pipe and 'kaeshkull' "a cocoanut shell
to receive his food I'M; these are about all
his earthly belongings. For the rest he
depends on charity, which never fails
him.
While in a certain town he will always
be found ut certain street corner, where
abundant shade and cool draught of air
arc always to be had. He viii interrupt
his meditations, his slumber or his smoke
= Of IN
stretch forth his hand without rising and
say, "Yahakk'' (Oh, eternal truthD, and
then Just as leisurely and impassively
pocket the coin donated. If unsuccessful,
he will, especially if the person be non
Moslem, howl dismal imprecations after
him, but without in the least flying into
passion.
This, then, is specimen Of the average
begging dervish, the class which makes
up nine-tenths of the fraternity. They
are indolent, happy go lucky, thoroughly
disreputable fellows who are only pre-
vented by laziness from being midnight
marauders, thieves and murderers. While
they are fanatics, they practice few of the
rules for behavior and prayers enjoined
by the Koran.
They stream from every part of Persia
into the capital at 'New Years." the
greatest festival time in Persia. Then
they elect visible head for their order
for the ensuing year, and reap golden
harvest of aims.
A step or two higher than these men
are those dervishes called ''Ahle Azad''
NTee People,. Like the others they are
eternal wanderers, and likewise are adj
dlictcd to the noxious drug While there
arc many among them who are popular
exhorters and street corner eXpounders of
the sacred Scriptures, the bulk of the
Ahle Azad are curbstone poets, profes-
sional story tcllers and wandering trouba-
dours 1t is claimed that many of them
are secretly unbelievers, theists or Baab-
ties It is certain, at any rate, that after
the attempted assassination Of the present
shah by several Baabite conspirators there
were a number of these dervishes exc
cuted, along with hundreds of other fol-
lowers of FL Baab.-Wolf Won Schier-
brand in New York Commercial Adver-
tiseT